Well-tube-draiwihg device



AVAILABLE CQPY C. E. RANNEY. WELL TUBE DRAINING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 26, 19m.

Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

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O E Witnesses "iUMTEDSTATES Bj CLARK E. RANNEY, ,orfrursaV OKLAHOMA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug'. 5, 119.19.

i VApplication filed November 26,1918. Serial No 264,142.

yoilwells itisy customary to displace the lower standing 'valve inthe working barrel, by lowering the tu-be and permit"- ting a pin tov raisel the valve from its seat, for; the purposeof permitting oil which 1s contained within the working barrel to f ilow back into the well before the tubing is withdrawn.

With the devices heretofore employed, however, Vit is necessary to allow the tubing to remain in vits lowered position for a 'sufficientlength of time to 4permit all of vthe oilv contained inthe barrel to flow out,

which "causes a lossf'of power, reduces the production of the well, etc. Further,w1th

the devices heretofore provided for `draining such tubing, the fluid will not escape froml the working barrel except to the level "of the oil in the'surroundingpocket or well,

arid, therefore,` a considerable'amount of oil is frequently' withdrawn with tubing, which is a total loss as well as causing inconvenience to the workmen by escaping from' the tubing onto theA derrick Hoor, etc. as the tubing is `drawn from the well.

The object of the-present invention is to provide a construction by which the standingvalve is not onlyl displaced from its seat, by the' means heretofore commonly employed, for example, but will be vautomatically supported in its lifted position so that -`withdrawal of the tubing from the well may be instantly commenced andeall ofkthef-oilv contained in the working barrel will be permitted tol escape, or flowl back into the well instead of being withdrawn with the tubing.

In the accompanying drawings j Figure is a vertical-@sectional H"view through a` portion of the working barrel of an oil wellpump.

Fig. 2 is 'a detail rview, onpan enlarged scale, of the standing valve of the pump and a portion of the workingvalva-removed fromfthe working,v barrel.

Fig?) is a-transverse section on lineS-B o f Fig. 2.

Referring toi the drawings, 10 designates the body of the working vbar-rel of an oil well. pump which, as usual, is `providedat its lower endv with a `perforated vanchor section l1, which parts areof ordinary construction. Within the working Ybarrel 10 is arranged. the standing valve which comprises a suitable casing 8 having frmed thereina valve seat 'withwhichffa .ball valve 3 is adapted to-coperate.

4 designatesa pin or rod"whichextends freely-througha guide llain the perforatedfsectionl 11, beingsupported on said guide by a nut 4a engaging a `suitable thread. This rod 4: is of suchk length that, as usual,` it projects below the lower end of the perforated.` anchor 11 sothat when its lower end is in' contactwith the bottom of the well the anchor and working barrel `may be moved downwardly relative thereto to cause the `upper end. of* such/'pin Vto raise' theballifrom theseat 5, or-shift it from the positionA shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2'to` the full line position shown "in that figure.

QA pluralityof pivotally mounted spring 'fingers 1 are arranged to extend through slots formedjin the casing 8 of the standing valveso that 'the upper ends la vthereof will project slightly over the ball `valve 3 when the latter is in position onl the seat 5. `As saidV valvel is pushed upward by the action of the linger '4 wheny the working barrel islowered,xsaid^5ngers will yield to p'ermitthe valve to pass but will 'immediately' spring inwardly again so as to support the lvalve inthe liftedM position shown in full lines in"Fig. l2. .When the ball valve 3 is thus supported, .oil contain- 'edA in the working valve "canY freely pass `'about said valveY and lthrough the lower end 'of the casing' andA out into the'well: throu" h CII valve 3 is automatically retained in its lifted position as regards its seat 5, the operators may immediately begin the operation of withdrawing the tubing from the well instead of having to wait, as with the devices heretofore employed,` a considerable length of time to permit -the oil contained in the working barrel between the valves thereof to escape.

Means are provided whereby the valve 3 will be automatically returned to its operative position on the seat 5 during the lirst downword movement of the plunger and working valve of the pump.

As shown, the strainer 6 which is commonly arranged below the working valve, a portion of the casing or body of which is indicated at 12, is provided with a depending pin 2 that extends through an opening in the upper end of the casing 8 of the standing valve and is of such length that it will contact with the standing valve ball 3 when the latter is in its elevated position, as the working barrel descends, and exert sufiicient pressure thereon to move the restraining fingers l laterally and allow said ball to fall upon the seat 5. When the ballB is in position on the seat 5, there is sufficient space between it and the lower end of the pin 2, at the bottom of the stroke of the pump plunger to afford the necessary vertical movement of the ball 3 in the pumping operation and said hall is only brought into the path of movement of the pin 2 by lowering the working barrel relative to the pin '4, as hereinbefore explained. As shown, the pin 2 is connected with the lower end of the strainer 6 of the working valve by a suitable thread and nut 7.

The advantages of the present invention have been briefly referred to in the foregoing description and will be readily appreciated. By providing means for automatically engaging the ball of the standing valve when the latter is lifted from its seat and restraining it in such elevated position the operatives may immediately begin withdrawing the tubing from a well, thus expediting the operation and saving time and lesseuing the expense, and further, all of the oil conta-ined in the working barrel will escape therefrom while the tubing is being withdrawn, regardless of the level of oil'in the well. The improvements comprise a minimum number of parts and may be readily applied to the working barrels of the pumps commonly in use.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed is: v

V1. The combination with the working barrel of an oil well pump, the standing valve within said barrel and means for raising said valve from its seat when the working barrel is lowered a predetermined distance from its working position, of means for automatically engaging the standing valve and maintaining it in such elevated position, for the purpose described.

2. The combination with the working barrel of an oil well pump, the standing Vvalve within said barrel and means for in the barrel comprising a casing provided f with a suitable seat and a ball movable within said `casing toward and from said seat, a plurality of finger-like members pivot-ally connected with said valve casing and extending into the interior thereof throughl slotsY above the valve? seat, and means for automatically moving said valve from its seat to a position where it will be supported by said members when the working barrel is lowered a predetermined distance from its working position.

fl. The combination with the working barrel of an oil well pump provided with standing and working valves, and means for raising the standing valve from its seat when the working barrel is lowered a predetermined distance from its working position, of means for automatically engaging the standing valve and maintaining it in such elevated position, and means connected with ai, member of the working valve for disengaging the standing valve from said engaging means on a downward movement of the working valve. A

5.' The combination of the working barrel of an oil well pump, a standing valve within the barrel comprising a casing provided with a suitable seat and a ball movable within said 'casing toward and from said seat, means for automatically raising said valve from its seat when the working barrel is lowered a predetermined distance from its working position, means for retaining the standing valve ball in its elevated position, and a pin guided in the upper end of the standing valve casing and adapted to be actuated by a downward movement of the working valve of the pump to release the ball of the standing valve from said retaining means. y

6.. The combination of the working barrel of an oil well pump, a standing valve within the barrel comprising a casing provided with a suitable seat and a ball movable within said casing toward and from said seat, means .for automatically raising said valve from its seat when the working barrel is lowered a predetermined distance from its barrel to Contact with the ball of the standworking position, means for retaining the lng valve and disengage 1t from the means standing valve hall 1n its elevated position, that hold 1t away from its seat. l l

Vand a pin connected with the strainer of the In testimony whereof I have hereunto set working valve of the pump and adapted my hand. when the working valve approaches the limit of its downward movement in the CLARK E. RANNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

